Chapter 11
Iwas bored. So fucking bored. Apparently, Kole regretted allowing me space away from him yesterday. For now, it seemed I was to be glued to the moody Alpha’s side.
I lay on the couch in Kole’s office, staring up at the ceiling.
The pile of books he’d had brought up from the library for me remained untouched.
I wasn’t much of a reader, preferring real life adventures to fictional ones.
By that logic I should love this adventure I was on.
I supposed if I wasn’t about to be forcefully bred in nine days, maybe I would.
I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat. I had to get out of here before then. I had to. But how? Every moment I wasn’t playing verbal tennis with Kole, or Dinah, or some other wolf, I was thinking, plotting an escape.
Steal a vehicle?
Climb out a window and make a run for it?
Get my hands on a knife and go Rambo on everyone?
Every single plan I came up with had one giant roadblock in front of it.
Aside from not having a clue where this little town was, aside from the five thousand werewolves I had to outrun, aside even from Kole, there was Konnor and Kallum.
The two menacing warriors who book-ended my days and nights, stalking my every step.
And they weren’t even the whole of my guard, I knew there were more I hadn’t met yet.
Kallum might have seemed indifferent about the idea of me escaping, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to stop me. He was an ever present presence outside our door at night. During the day, Konnor was the annoying fly, buzzing around me every moment.
Unless I could get my watchdogs out of the way, any plan I came up with was pointless.
So I lay here, examining my options. The simplest one was to kill them.
Simple in theory, almost impossible in execution.
After watching Konnor fight yesterday, I understood why Kole had placed him as my personal guard.
Besides, I didn’t actually want to hurt any of these people.
Despite what they planned to do to me, it felt wrong.
My other options were to drug them somehow, then give them the slip while they were out cold.
But getting my hands on drugs was going to be nigh on impossible too, unless I lied to Kara about some faux illness, and even then, I had no doubt they would hand deliver each dosage themselves.
They weren't about to hand over a whole bunch of drugs to their majorly pissed off captive.
So, that left option number three: I needed a distraction. How I was going to swing that I didn’t know yet. Set something on fire? Konnor would see. Start a fight? Konnor would see.
I tried not to groan in frustration because even if I did manage to get away, what would come next?
Unless I had a solid plan I would be caught within minutes.
I needed supplies in case I got stuck in the woods for a few days.
I needed to know my location, where the nearest civilization was, and I needed to know where the Gulf pack was.
The Maclays didn’t want to kill me but if the Gulf’s really were their enemy, I wasn’t sure they would be so merciful.
Kole sat at his desk, hunched over papers, ignoring me. The chain remained about my wrists but hung loose at my side instead of in his iron grip.
I remembered the glimpse of the beast I’d seen yesterday. I tried not to think about that thing coming after me as I made my escape. It made it all seem so impossible. I shook myself. I couldn’t think that way. If I did, I’d never get out of here.
A knock at the door pulled me out of my thoughts. Dinah entered, eyeing my prone pose with amusement.
“Alpha, I wondered if you’d allow your mate to join me in the kitchens for a while?
” I arched an eyebrow, wondering what game she was playing.
Kole looked like he was about to refuse when she continued.
“Konnor will be with us and it won’t be for long.
I thought you might like her to make you lunch. ”
I wanted to snap that I wasn’t a fucking waitress but Dinah gave me a look, a silent request to shut the hell up because she was trying to do me a favour. It was a reminder I needed to give myself. Play nice, Iona.
“Fine.” Kole stood, taking up my chain and handing it to his mother. He took my chin in his hand. “You will behave.”
I gave him the best mock salute I could with my hands cuffed and headed out the door. I was surprised Kole had relented so easily but I wasn’t about to complain if it meant I got to be away from him for a while.
Konnor followed us in rare silence as Dinah led the way to the kitchen. Our silence was easy. With Kole I felt on edge, anxiety gnawing at me every moment. Stepping into Dinah’s presence was like stepping into a warm bath.
“I hope you don't mind me stealing you away for an hour, I figured you could use a breather.”
“I don’t mind,” I said stiffly.
She raised a brow at me as we walked. “Something bothering you? Besides the usual, I mean.”
I came to a stop, looking at the older woman. “I feel…strange around you. I don’t know what it is. I just feel…” I trailed off, unable to find the right words.
“Less threatened by me than the others?” she offered and I realised that yes, that was exactly it.
I didn’t know why. It made no sense. “We’re cut from the same cloth, you and I.
All things considered, we should resent each other.
You because I’m holding you hostage, me because you’re hurting my son.
But our connection goes beyond that. We’re Lunas.
Our bond as females runs deeper than circumstantial emotions. Think of us as…kindred spirits.”
“But I don’t like you,” I said but she just laughed. I heard Konnor chuckle too.
“Females don’t have to like each other to get things done.” She continued walking down the stairs to the back of the house where the kitchen was located. I followed.
“Did you feel this way with the last Luna?”
“Yes and no. Jonah’s mother was complicated.” She gave me a vague smile that told me there were secrets buried there. I was curious but before I could push, she continued on. “One day, I’m sure Kole will tell you about his grandparents. Now, smile.”
“What?” In answer she pasted a smile on her face and stepped through the door, leaving me to follow her.
The kitchens fixtures were industrial, built to feed hundreds if not thousands of people, yet the room didn’t have that factory feel. This was a room accustomed to laughter and life. Two smiling faces I recognised from the dining hall greeted me.
“Ladies, this is Luna Iona,” Dinah announced.
The two women nodded a respectful hello.
“Iona, this is Lucy, Beta Marcus’s mate.
” Lucy’s white blond hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail and, like her mate, she had a ‘no bullshit’ look about her, though she currently had a surface smile painted over it.
“Good to meet you, Luna.” She nodded and I nodded back, grateful that she hadn’t tried to hug me.
“And this is Allie, Gamma Carrick's mate.”
Allie didn’t have the same respect for my personal space and instantly came to wrap her arms around me. Her tight curls brushed my nose. She smelled of herbs. I instantly imagined her with her hands in the earth, tending to plants.
She gave me an apologetic look, her brown eyes shining.
“We’re really excited you’re joining us.
We’re making bread!” Flour was dusted over her hands, covering her dark skin like chalk, and she brushed it off, as if she was embarrassed.
The Gamma’s mate smiled brightly, a nervous air about her that I didn’t like.
“I don’t know how to bake.”
“Well, that’s the last time you’ll ever be able to say that, isn’t it?” Dinah grinned. I wanted to argue with her – baking was not my thing – but Konnor was already removing my cuffs and suddenly, baking didn’t seem so bad.
Dinah flung an apron over my head and tied it behind my back. Konnor pulled up a stool in the corner, content to watch us without involving himself. His eyes never left me and I imagined that was due to the close proximity of many, many knives.
I soon found myself sandwiched between Dinah and Allie as they helped me measure out ingredients.
Lucy’s reserved energy was more my speed, she seemed less interested in me than Allie did.
Their conversation was easy, involving me little, but I felt claustrophobic between them as they took turns teaching me how to knead the dough properly.
They stood close, skin touching mine almost constantly. It was suffocating.
The bread went into bowls and we each covered ours in clingfilm to ‘proof.’ Whatever that meant. Making the salad was next, an activity involving too many knives for me, so my new job was to sit and drink the tea Allie made for me.
I took a sip and found it sweet and fragrant, with a tang I hadn’t tasted before.
“Something wrong with your tea?” Dinah asked.
“No, I’m just trying to place the flavours. Blueberry and…huckleberry?”
“You have a very good palette for a human.” Allie smiled. “You’ve had huckleberries before?”
“I’ve smelled it. The berries are everywhere around here.”
“Luna Dinah told us you’re a wildlife photographer?” Lucy said as she cut tomatoes into slices. “That must be an interesting job.”
“Yeah, I miss it.” It pained me to think of my beautiful Nikon stuffed away in some cupboard, gathering dust.
“Once the Alpha trusts you, you’ll get your equipment back. Then you can return to your work.” This was Lucy again, calmer than Allie, less animated. Allie’s arm brushed mine as she reached for the lettuce, standing closer than was necessary.
“Panama, Argentina, the Arctic Circle, the Congo…just a few places I want to travel to for work. Can I go? Ever? I’m stuck here, right? There’s only so many times I can photograph deer.”
“On the positive side? At least you don’t have to worry about making a living anymore.” Allie shrugged, offering the same sickly sweet smile that seemed permanently stuck to her face.